How a Viking and a NotViking Train a Dragon
by Christopher Scott
Summary: I deleted and am now redoing the story. This is how How to Train Your Dragon could have been if Astrid had been there from the start. Please read and review this story.Thank all of you for reading this fanfic.truly, Christopher Scott: Gentleman Thief
1. Chapter 1

How a Viking and a Not-Viking Train a Dragon

Chapter 1 Revised

Me no own How to Train Your Dragon.

This is Berk. Everything is pretty normal for a Viking settlement: the fishing is good, the land is fertile. The only problem is that they have a minor pest control issue. Well, a huge one. They have dragons raid the village almost every once a week.

Right now, for example, there was one of those all-too-familiar raids going on. Most of the Vikings were working to fight the dragons, but two Vikings were ordered to remain indoors. Their names were Astrid Hofferson and Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III.

The reason that they were the only ones inside was that Hiccup was, by nature, inventive and made all sorts of weapons. Unfortunately for the gangly redhead, his weapons wound up being misfired and breaking something one too many times. His only friend in the village, Astrid, was there to make sure he didn't leave the house until the raid was over. They had been in a group of kids when they were little, but, as they got older, Hiccup showed no signs of becoming Viking-like, and so the others abandoned him. Astrid couldn't do that to him, however. He had been the agile blonde girl's first friend and they had been inseparable since they could crawl. She had become his only friend other than Gobber the Belch, the blacksmith that he was apprenticed to, despite her being one of the most Viking-like fighters in the tribe. Of course, being the chief's son made his feelings of being a failure of a Viking worse to him, as he was constantly reminded of just how much different from the other Vikings. Right now, he was trying to reason with Astrid in order to get out. This of course was not working.

"Hiccup, you know that you're probably gonna kill everybody if you step outside," Astrid told her friend, rolling her blue eyes and sharpening the curved blade of her axe, which had been hers since her 7th birthday.

"Why are you even keeping me in? You know I'll get out. I always do," Hiccup replied to her, slowly inching toward the window.

"You're not even getting out of my sight this time. Besides, I caught you each time," she retorted smugly, turning to place the whetstone behind her on the table.

She turned around just in time to see him jumping out the window. Feeling angry and amused, she ran after the boy, swinging her axe in a way that would only be construed as a threat by him.

"Hiccup, get back here or I'll chop off your legs!" she shouted half-playfully

Hiccup just ran like a bat out of Hel, heading to the forge.

Uh-oh, Astrid thought, recalling his various devices, he's got all kinds of stuff at that forge.

He kept running until Astrid lost sight of him due to the large crowd.

When she saw him, after having to defeat a couple of Gronkles to get to him, he was firing a bola into the dark from a cannon-like device. She saw it hit a dark dragon shape in the distance. She walked up to Hiccup and began dragging him back to his home by his collar.

Suddenly a Monstrous Nightmare was almost on top of them, its red body flaming. Fortunately, the Chief of Berk and Hiccup's father, Stoick the Vast knocked it down with a hefty war hammer. It flew off, taking 5 sheep in its talons. Stoick turned to the pair, a look of irritation and frustration evident on his face, and thundered, "You two shouldn't be out here!"

"But Hiccup caught…" Astrid began.

"Take him back to the house. That's an order," he said in a calmer, tired tone of voice.

Both children walked off. Every kid except Fishlegs, the major book reader of Berk, was taunting Hiccup as the pair walked to Hiccup's house. Astrid glared at everybody they passed, her arm wrapped protectively around Hiccup's shoulders. When they got into Hiccup's home, Astrid noticed that he was heading for the back door.

"Where are you going?" she asked him, her curiosity piqued.

"I'm gonna find that dragon," he replied, as if it was the only course of action to take.

"Not without me. If I ever left you alone while you were awake, you'd get yourself killed 35 times over," she said, not wanting to find out that Hiccup got hurt while out in the forest.

"Um…okay?" he replied in a slightly nervous voice, "Does this mean that you're not gonna kill me for running away?"

"For now," she teased, flipping her axe around her wrist.

The pair walked through the forest for a while, until they came across the dragon. It was unlike any dragon that they had ever seen. It was a spectacle of varying shades of iridescent blackish-blue. It was still alive.

"Come on Hiccup," Astrid said not wanting to keep the silence in which a feeling of wrongness was brewing, "you know that you've got to kill it."

The dragon looked at him in the eyes, emerald green to emerald green, with a mixture of sorrow and resignation. Neither made a move. Without another thought, Hiccup used his dagger and cut the ropes on the dragon. It lunged at him, fangs bared. Astrid panicked and reached for her axe. The Night Fury, as it must have been, looked her and smirked at her attempt to intimidate it. It looked at Hiccup in the eyes, seeing the resignation in his eyes as he accepted his face. It turned away and flew off in a sort of teetering manner. Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief, until a hand smacked him hard on the back of the head.

"Ow! What was that for?" he asked.

"I stand corrected," Astrid remarked in a slightly sharp tone, "you must have the most dumb luck of anybody in Berk."

"That didn't actually answer my question."

"That was for scaring me. The reason that I stand corrected," she added her tone softening, "is that you could probably do worse if I left you with your hands than if I left you with your legs instead. If you ever do something as impulsively as that again, I'll cut your hands off."

"One of these days I'm going to wake up without any limbs. Aren't I?" he replied sarcastically.

"Yes," she replied.

Wow! That was brutally honest," he said with a slightly nervous tone.

"I think that the Night Fury likes you," she said bluntly.

"Yeah, did you see the fangs? Completely friendly," he remarked, rolling his eyes

"Why didn't it kill you?" she prodded.

"Pity? Contempt? I honestly don't know, but, I am going to find out just what it wants with me, tomorrow. It did let me live," he replied contemplatively.

"If you go, I'm following you. I don't really like the idea of my friend dying in a huge fiery death," she replied honestly.

"Just by axing to death at your hands," he remarked.

"Exactly," she agreed.

Hand in hand, the pair walked back to the village and separated to get to their homes.


	2. Chapter 2

How a Viking and a Not-Viking Train a Dragon

Chapter 2

Do I have to? Yes. Fine, I don't own How to Train Your Dragon. Sorry I haven't updated this in a while.

Astrid and Hiccup walked cautiously through the forest, looking for the Night Fury. So far the search was not doing any good. They were going to give up, when they came across a valley, where they saw the Night Fury, flapping its wings and leaping up and down. It seemed trapped in there, as if it couldn't fly.

Hiccup was the first to enter the place, as he always could outrun her. Running from her was his forte, after all the times she chased him. He seemed strangely eager to see the dragon that had seemed willing to kill him just the night before. The pair hid behind a low rock, out of the Night Fury's line of sight. Meanwhile, the Night Fury had stopped moving, just doing nothing.

Astrid, getting bored with the lack of movement from the dragon, had started a conversation as they watched the Night Fury.

"So, are going to go to dragon training this year?" she asked.

"Yep," he said in a much less than thrilled tone of voice, "Didn't even listen when I said I didn't want to go after all. I swear; it's almost as if Dad goes out of his way to ignore what I say."

"He just doesn't understand that you're not like other Vikings. Hey, did you hear about how they're going on another mission to the dragon's nest?"

"Yeah, at least that means that I won't have to hear just how much I need to be somebody else," he remarked.

"Did you bring your dagger?" she inquired, trying to be cautious.

"Of course not, the dragon could kill us. Why would you bring your axe?"

"Did you hear something?" she interrupted.

"Does it sound like heavy breathing directly over our heads?" he asked.

"Yes, how did you know?" she inquired, getting worried.

"The Night Fury seems to have good hearing. It's looking at me from over your shoulder," he replied nervously.

Astrid drew out her axe and was going to throw it at the dragon, when Hiccup threw it away from her and said, "I wouldn't do that, I think that will just make him mad."

"He's going to KILL us!" she retorted.

"I think that he would have done that already. He just keeps staring at me."

"What do you think he's planning?"

"I don't know. If he tries to eat me, run," he said.

"And leave my best friend to die? Never. If he eats you, I'll kill him painfully," she replied seriously.

The Night Fury was looking at the pair and smiled at the loyalties that these humans had for one another. His eyes then darted to the downed axe and the male of the pair. He had thrown away the axe. That was an odd human gesture. Normally, the axe was thrown at a dragon. This boy fascinated him. So did the girl to a lesser extent, as he couldn't figure out just what force could team up the friendly boy and the girl who looked like she would kill even a Terrible Terror that was stunned. Suddenly it stopped. It smelled food.

Hiccup looked at the dragon. It reminded him of a house cat with wings. It had stopped staring at him. It looked at the pack on his shoulders now. Before Hiccup could understand what was happening, the dragon stuck its head into his pack and came out with the fish that Hiccup had planned on giving it. He looked to Astrid in confusion and all she could do was shrug. The dragon swallowed it whole and looked at him hopefully.

"Uh, sorry," he told the dragon, "I don't have anymore."

Suddenly, it sat on its hind legs and began to look like it was going to hurl fire at him. Astrid moved to pick up her axe, but the dragon hadn't burnt Hiccup into a smoking heap. Instead, it had vomited half of the fish into his lap. Astrid couldn't help but laugh.

"It seems that the dragon is a picky eater," she smirked.

It turned to her and back to Hiccup, making a slight chewing motion.

Uh-oh, Astrid thought, if it wants him to do what I think it wants him to do, I'm glad I'm not Hiccup.

Unfortunately for Hiccup, it did want him to eat the half-digested fish. He took a bite out of it and pretended to eat it. Astrid was sure that it tasted disgusting. The Night Fury kept its eyes locked on him, not tricked by Hiccup's charade. Hiccup eventually swallowed it and the Night Fury gave him a look of eager curiosity. Interpreting this as the dragon asking him what he thought of the meal, he grinned weakly at it. Then, to Astrid's surprise, it mimicked his gesture, smiling at him without any teeth.

"Toothless?" Hiccup mused out loud, "I could have sworn you had teeth."

Suddenly, the dragon pounced on a hare nearby baring razor-sharp fangs.

It swallowed the hare in one bite and turned its attention to Astrid. Picking up the half-eaten fish, it plopped into Astrid's lap. Astrid felt that she was going to be sick, but she did as Hiccup did.

Seeming satisfied, the dragon flew wobbly away from the two teens. Astrid was the first to speak.

"So, I say that we never speak of this again. Ever."

"Half of his tail was cut off," Hiccup remarked, ignoring her statement.

"We'll deal with that later," Astrid replied, "Right now, we need to get to Dragon Training."


	3. Chapter 3

How a Viking and a Not-Viking Train a Dragon

Chapter 3

I claim nothing but the variations on the plot.

Today was day one in dragon training class. Astrid felt in her element here. Unfortunately for Hiccup, he didn't. Astrid watched him closely. Their group consisted of the two of them, Fishlegs, Snotlout, and the Twins Ruffnutt and Tuffnut.

She knew them well.

The six of them used to be the best of friends, but as the others changed, Hiccup did not. Snotlout got stronger, the twins got faster, Fishlegs got bigger, and she got agility and the ability to aim with enough precision to pin a gnat to a wall. Hiccup seemed to only develop his mind, which nobody cared about. Well, almost nobody. She loved his crackpot theories and insane gadgets.

She was shaken out of her thoughts by Gobber's loud voice and the clunking of his peg-leg.

"You will all be fighting dragons today, as well as in the foreseeable future, so I am here to teach you how to fight. Now, today, you'll be fighting off a Gronkle."

"Shouldn't you teach us how to fight first?" asked Fishlegs.

"I believe in learning on the job," Gobber replied, causing Hiccup to smirk. He had a few burn scars to prove that Gobber believed that.

Out came the dragon. It was grotesquely fat and had tiny wings. It was almost as if the gods had taken a bee and turned it into a giant reptilian version of itself.

They all ran for shields. The dragon took out the twins and Snotlout by blasting their shields with two bursts of flame.

"How many shots does the Gronkle have before it is out of fire?" Gobber asked them.

"Six shots of flame, level 10 speed…" Fishlegs began to ramble. His shield got blasted and a chunk hit him on the head, knocking him unconscious. The Gronkle was going to blast him, when Hiccup threw his shield at it. It missed, but the dragon realized his intent and fired. Astrid threw her axe at it, but, the dragon had its attention on Hiccup It kept chasing him.

"Get Fishlegs out of here!" he shouted, in a powerful tone, "I'll be alright! Just get him out!"

Astrid did as he said, watching with horror as the Gronkle cornered him. It began to flare up in its mouth… Only to be pulled away by Gobber's prosthetic hook-hand.

"That's six. Go back to your cage."

Astrid was thrilled to see Hiccup safe and sound.

Fishlegs woke up and Astrid told everybody what had happened. None of them believed her.

"Hiccup is Hiccup. He isn't courageous."

"Are you feeling okay?"

"Hiccup probably just accidentally drew the dragon to him."

Fishlegs, however, walked up to Hiccup.

"Thanks," he said, "You really saved my skin in there."

"It doesn't really matter," Hiccup replied, "I'm just dragon fodder."

He walked off as he said this. Astrid heard this and followed him to the campfire where everybody was eating.

When they got there, Gobber was retelling the story explaining where his hand and foot went. Snotlout vowed to do something stupid, yet not noteworthy enough to remember to avenge Gobber's hand and foot.

Whatever it was, it caused Gobber to say something that stopped Hiccup's blood cold and Astrid to stiffen.

"You want to cut off their wings and tail. If a dragon can't fly, it's helpless. A downed dragon is a dead dragon."

Hiccup and Astrid walked off to talk.

"We need to fix Toothless' tail," Hiccup said, his voice full of certainty.

"Who's Toothless?" Astrid asked.

"That's.. what... I've decided to call him. He did have no teeth at one point."

"Yeah, then out came a line of razor sharp ones. If anything, his name should be Razortooth."

"You can call him whatever you want," Hiccup replied, "his name is Toothless."

"Fine, but, how are we going to fix his tail?" she asked him.

"I've got a couple of ideas," he replied That's all I'm going to say for tonight. Goodnight, Astrid."

"Goodnight, Hiccup.".

They both leaned in toward each other lightly, but then caught themselves.

"Um.. see you later," Hiccup stammered.

"Um.. yeah later," Astrid replied hesitantly. Both teens walked off to their respective homes at a pace so brisk, that they were almost running.


	4. Chapter 4

How a Viking and a Not-Viking Train a Dragon

Chapter 4

I swear on my honor as a Gentleman Thief that I had nothing to do with the making of the film How to Train Your Dragon.

Hiccup and Astrid were making their way to the valley where the Night Fury, or as Hiccup called it despite Astrid's protests, Toothless, was. Hiccup was carrying a thing made of leather while she carried the basket of fish, as Hiccup was the only one who knew the right way to attach the leather thing.

"Remember, keep him distracted until I say otherwise," he whispered.

"Why is it always you who's got to get himself killed?" she asked, concern edging her voice.

"I make much better dragon fodder," he replied simply.

"Quit overlooking what else you're good for," she admonished.

"Which is?" he inquired.

"Well, obviously, you can make great inventions," remarked.

"Which destroy everything in town," he replied.

"You're a brilliant artist," she responded.

Toothless arrived, watching the two children exchange words. They kept talking on lighter subjects, such as the fact that the ships had just left for an island. Toothless grinned to himself over the two children's ridiculous exchanges. They were obviously… He smelled food.

Astrid drew his attention as Hiccup snuck up behind him.

The girl must be up to something, Toothless thought, She is never this friendly towards me. Where did the boy go?

Suddenly, he felt a weight on his tail. The other fin must have grown back. He launched into the air, noticing that the boy was on his tail.

"Hiccup!" Astrid screamed. He had been flown off to who-knows-where. She couldn't believe it. He was gone. Just like that.

Suddenly, he plummeted into the lake. He walked out, soaking wet, but completely fine.

"What…?" she began.

"Don't ask," he replied.

Suddenly, Toothless crashed into the water. The splash was so large, that Astrid was as drenched as Hiccup.

"Well, it worked while I was holding it," Hiccup remarked.

"Work on it," Astrid replied. Then, she punched him, and said, "And don't scare me like that again!"

"Okay, I'll try. We need to get to Dragon Training."

"Why do I have a sinking suspicion that we're fighting something dangerous?" Astrid remarked.

"It's Gobber. He is obviously not going to release a kitten. Trust me. My first task as his apprentice was to make an axe," Hiccup replied

"How did that work out?" she asked.

"Your father gave it to you for your birthday. Pretty well, I suppose," Hiccup responded.

"You made this?" she asked, surprised.

"Don't believe me?" he replied, touching the scar on his chin, "This scar isn't for show"

"Ouch."

"Yeah, now we need to hurry, or Gobber will get furious at us being late."

"Okay, Hiccup, but, order me around again, and I will rip your arm off with my bare hands," she replied in a falsely sweet voice.

"Sorry," he responded, "No axe this time?"

"No, it would be too ironic," she smirked.

Exchange finished, the pair left and didn't even notice that Toothless had smirked at them as they left.


	5. Chapter 5

How a Viking and a Not-Viking Train a Dragon

Chapter 5

I own nothing on the film.

The sequences are out of order purposely. I am just mix and matching to suit my purposes.

Thank y'all who read this. Sorry it took a while.

I would like to thank DevilishSophistication for helping me come up

with a way to make this plot point work.

I didn't use her idea, but it helped me come up with something.

As Hiccup and Astrid walked to the training arena, people kept asking what happened to them, since they were soaked for apparently no reason. One person even asked if it had been raining. When the pair finally entered the arena, their clothes dried, they noticed that inside the training arena was a strange maze.

"Today's lesson is about stealth," Gobber explained in his almost nonchalant tone, "So, try not letting the Deadly Nadder see you."

He opened the door, and out came a dragon that looked like a giant cross between a colorful bird, perhaps a parrot, and a reptile. Nobody could get into the maze any faster.

"Remember, every dragon has a blind spot," Gobber said, trying to encourage the children in the lesson.

Ruff and Tuff seemed to have accidentally found it, as the dragon was facing them and yet couldn't seem to see them. Then, Ruff shoved Tuff, and shouted, "Get your own blind spot!"

This led to their inevitable fight of the hour, and made the dragon blast their shields.

"Remember," Gobber joked, "Blind spot, yes, deaf spot, no."

Snotlout proceeded to throw his hammer which missed the dragon, causing it to release a blast that destroyed his shield. Because of this, he and the twins began trying to find their way out of the maze.

Hiccup, meanwhile had crafted a makeshift barrier that separated himself, Astrid, and Fishlegs from the dragon. Unfortunately, it gave out a bit, causing Hiccup to have to try to prop up a bit more. Hiccup was out in the open as he got up, and did not notice the dragon right behind him. Astrid saw the dragon though, and tackled Hiccup to the ground. The dragon swept past them, and, noticing Snotlout running away as fast as possible, changed its target.

Astrid was still on top of Hiccup, though, so Tuff decided that it was too perfect a setup.

"Love on the battlefield!" he called out, as Hiccup and Astrid got to their feet, blushing profusely.

Suddenly, the Nadder turned, seeing Hiccup and Astrid, while at the same time, demolished Fishlegs' shield with its tail spikes which launched in the same manner as a porcupine's quills. The pair split up, trying to confuse the dragon. The plan was going well, until the dragon unknowingly knocked over the thin, heavy wall behind Astrid, trapping her legs. Hearing the crash, the Nadder sharply turned around and saw Astrid pinned and struggling to get free.

"Fishlegs," Hiccup ordered strongly, seizing control of the situation, "Find the others and get them out of here! Now!"

Fishlegs ran, doing as Hiccup commanded. Astrid, meanwhile, was almost free, but the Nadder was approaching her fast. Hiccup was too far off to directly help Astrid, so he did the next best thing.

It is important to note, at this point, that Hiccup had, when he was little, cultivated a talent that got him in trouble for scaring people into a frenzy. He could whistle is a way that sounded like the noise that came before a Night Fury's blast. Trying to distract the Nadder, if even for a moment, he desperately used that talent now.

The Nadder whirled around; looking up all over the sky with a look that reminded Hiccup and Astrid of hope, then looked down and gave Hiccup an angry look, as it realized that the noise came from him. It began to stalk rapidly towards him, when Astrid, now free of the wall, threw her axe at it with all of her might, before it could launch a spike at her friend. It gave her a look that looked like it was measuring her worth, and then looked at Hiccup and then back at her. It turned and tottered into its cell, as though it was dizzy from Astrid's axe hitting it, which it probably was.

Gobber quickly closed the door behind it and said, "I've never seen her like that before. Excellent teamwork you two. You did a great job."

"Help! We're lost!" Tuffnut's voice cried out causing Gobber to go off to find the rest of the training group.

Hiccup and Astrid were silent, as neither could figure out what to say. Then, both at once, said "Thank you."

Deciding that staying longer would serve no real purpose, the pair walked off, not noticing that they were holding hands, to see Toothless and measure him for a saddle that Hiccup could use to make the tail work, as Astrid had absolutely no desire to ride a dragon.

Once they went through the arduous process of getting Toothless measured, Toothless took Hiccup's pencil in his mouth and began to run away. The children began to chase him until Astrid got the pencil. Then, Hiccup and Toothless began to chase her. So the trio played Chase the Pencil until sunset, when the children had to return to the village. Tomorrow would be an interesting day.


	6. Chapter 6

How a Viking and a Not-Viking Train a Dragon

Chapter 6

Go ahead; ask if I own How to Train Your Dragon.

NO! I DON'T! WHY ARE YOU ASKING ME! YOU'RE MEAN!

Hiccup and Astrid were relaxing in the forge the morning following measuring Toothless. Suddenly, Gobber burst in, his usual odd smile on his face, and said "So this is where you two have been hiding all day. Well come on, we need everybody at the practice. You're facing the Hideous Zippleback, today."

Without even a pause, he dragged them to the arena, ignoring Hiccup and Astrid's bewildered looks that no doubt came from him suddenly lifting them.

When they got there, Gobber gave them each a bucket of water, which they took without any spoken questions. In their heads, several were brewing, some of which over their teacher's sanity.

"The Zippleback is very tricky," Gobber said, "One head breathes flammable gases and the other lights it."

The Zippleback came out and everybody panicked and flung their water at each head. Unfortunately, Astrid and Hiccup, the only ones to throw at the correct head were too far off, and Fishlegs spilled, so the head was missed entirely.

Suddenly, the Zippleback smacked Snoutlout and Fishlegs with its heads, taking them out of the activity. The Zippleback then attacked the twins, who kept just barely out of its reach. Strangely enough, it was completely ignoring Astrid and Hiccup.

Astrid turned to Hiccup determinedly, just as he turned to her looking contemplative. Grinning, they silently snuck up on the Zippleback just as it lunged at the twins. They jumped up on one neck and began climbing to one's head. Then they began to taunt the other head. It lunged at them, but they jumped off the head, causing the Zippleback to bite its other half.

The offended head attacked its accidental attacker and a fight ensued.

When the lesson ended Ruff said that Astrid saved them, while Tuff said Hiccup saved them and a fight ensued.

Astrid and Hiccup then headed off to the forge, with Tuffnut's mocking shouts about them needing privacy probably echoing throughout the entire island of Berk. After a lot of work on Hiccup's part, as well as some supervising on Astrid's part, they made a saddle designed to keep Hiccup on Toothless and allow Hiccup to steer the tailfin. They were ready for a test flight.


	7. Chapter 7

How a Viking and a Not-Viking Train a Dragon

Chapter 7

Y'know, by now, this is kinda obvious, but, I do not own How to Train Your Dragon.

Just thought I'd let you know.

Also, I couldn't recall the cheat sheet when I wrote this chapter, and had finished it when I did, so I just … well, you'll see.

Also, I would like to thank those of you who read this fanfic, despite my being a relatively inconsistent updater, which I apologize for, but I have no control over the situation.

Determined to get the saddle on him, Astrid and Hiccup chased Toothless around the cove for about an hour before he fell asleep. And the way he fell asleep was Astrid waited before he got to a specific area, and dropped down on his head, holding a plant, which had knocked Toothless out earlier in the day for a short period of time. As such, Astrid had no plan to ride Toothless, as who knew what he'd do vindictively. He wouldn't kill or harm her, probably, but he would still try to punish her out of a need for revenge that they knew he'd feel.

When the dragon woke up, he found, much to his displeasure; his humans had gotten the saddle on him, but weren't performing any courtship rituals. Then, again, it's not like Hiccup, as he discovered the boy's name to be, could not perform aerial tricks and flips, as he had no… Suddenly, Toothless had a plan.

Hiccup had just climbed onto Toothless and put his foot in the fin controlling stirrup, when the dragon suddenly leapt up and flew off with a disoriented Hiccup on his back. Astrid, laughing at Hiccup's screams, was watching the pair soar shakily with a telescope that allowed her to watch the proceedings. If one were to see what her attention was focused on the most, they would notice a certain boy in the center of the telescope lens. Of course, if they were to mention it, she would hotly deny it, using her axe to punctuate each syllable.

Hiccup, meanwhile, found that he was both frightened and strangely at peace in the air. He was manipulating the tail rigging with his leg, as he designed the saddle to permit, when suddenly; he and Toothless wound up veering into a cliff range.

All of this was going according to Toothless' master plan to get his humans together. Soon he wouldn't have to smell the tension between them. If not, eh, he'd probably still get a fish at some point from them.

Astrid watched in horror as Hiccup and Toothless headed into a labyrinth of cliffs. She kept her scope on them in order to watch and hope for the best. She was frustrated and horrified for them, but, it was all she could do.

Up in the air, Hiccup was scared, yet, miraculously, he seemed to be able to maneuver the fin instinctively. He wasn't sure what he was doing, but he seemed to be getting the hang of it. Together, he and Toothless cleared the cliffs in one piece. Flying in sync, they flew back to Astrid in the valley.

When they landed, Astrid met them with a friendly, yet annoyed pat on Toothless' snout and a rather hard punch to Hiccup's shoulder.

"What was that for?" Hiccup asked, confused.

"That was for scaring me by flying off and almost dying, again…" she said, harshly.

"Why didn't you hit…" he began, but was cut off by her suddenly hugging him tightly.

"…And that was for coming back alive." She continued.

They were both blushing as they walked off to go start a campfire.

Toothless, following closely, smiled at them, very amused. Step one of courtship was a success.


	8. Chapter 8

How a Viking and a NotViking Train a Dragon

I don't own the film or book the film is base3d on. Sorry for the delay. Here's the romantic flight as best as I could write it.

Chapter 8

Astrid and Hiccup sat in silence as they ate the fish that they cooked for themselves. Toothless, meanwhile, was eating a pile of raw fish that he had caught.

"So," Astrid said, breaking the silence, "what are you and Toothless going to do next?"

"I don't know," he replied, "I'm not sure if the others are ready to accept the pair of us being friends with him."

"Probably not," she replied, thinking of the way the people of Berk thought.

A pair of Terrible Terrors leapt out of the bushes and ran at Toothless' fish. He took the fish from each one. One brazenly attempted to fire at him, but, right when it filled its mouth with gas, Toothless fired into its mouth, causing it to have a small explosion in its mouth, stunning it, much to the two human's amusement.

"Guess they're not so fireproof on the inside," Astrid quipped.

"We should take note of that," Hiccup replied, wondering at the strange weakness.

"They're not so bad," Astrid remarked quietly, as one rubbed its head against her leg, much like a cat would.

"They really aren't that different from us, are they?" Hiccup replied, his voice sounding contemplative.

"Not really," Astrid agreed, resting her head on Hiccup's shoulder.

Suddenly, the pair became very much aware of how close to one another they were and leapt away as if burned, their cheeks blazing red.

"Well, I need to get home," Astrid said hurriedly.

"…A-And I have to fly Toothless back," Hiccup replied just as hurriedly.

Saying this, the pair headed off in their separate directions, stealing glances at each other. Astrid walked through the woods, walking through at a relaxed pace. Hiccup walked up to Toothless and climbed up onto him.

The time was right to further implement Toothless' plan. Without any sort of warning, he veered toward the forest, following the path Astrid took.

"Whoa! Toothless, stop!" Hiccup shouted. Toothless eventually caught up to Astrid and lifted her.

"Hiccup!" Astrid shouted, "What are you doing?"

"I'm not doing anything," Hiccup replied, "This overgrown pile of scales is steering!"

Toothless was offended. After all his meddling to link up his humans, he was being referred to as an "overgrown pile of scales"? That would not do at all. Out of spite, he smacked Hiccup's face with one of his ears. Then, he tossed Astrid lightly in the air (they were only a yard off the ground, so it wasn't THAT bad…), and aimed so that she landed right behind Hiccup. It was now time for revenge. Continuation of the courtship plan would have to wait until he had his revenge on Astrid for drugging him.

Toothless soared straight into the air, as fast as he could to get to a very high point. When he got to the peak, he stopped flying and turned toward the ground. He began to freefall, smirking to himself as they plummeted. He flew them in as erratic fashion, making them bob up and down and flip repeatedly.

"Alright!" Astrid shouted, "I'm sorry!"

Toothless, his revenge exacted, broke the cloud cover, and Hiccup and Astrid were taken to a magical world.

It was a beautiful sunset, rendering the clouds and the sky into shimmering gold. It was so beautiful that Astrid couldn't resist reaching out and touching a cloud. She was amazed to find out that they were made of water droplets, which felt cool against her hand. Her face glowed with joy and excitement at this miraculous world around her. Toothless smiled to himself, preparing for the next part. The sun set, leaving a dark peaceful world behind it.

Toothless turned to a clear portion of the sky. They flew above Berk, as it glowed in the firelight of its torches. The village looked lovely, with its golden points of light creating a beautiful radiance.

Astrid nuzzled her head into the crook of his neck, her chin resting on his shoulder. An Aurora poured across the sky, giving off such beautiful colors.

Hiccup and Astrid were close together on Toothless. Suddenly, Toothless seemed to lose control his movements, making him turn in a sharper fashion than he normally would. The trio turned sharply into a nearby fog, passing a group of oblivious Berk ships.

Then, they were in the fog.


	9. Chapter 9

How a Viking and a NotViking Train a Dragon

Chapter 9

Don't spear me! I apologize for not updating sooner. You know, I remember this one story I was writing a long time back. I wound up taking a long time to continue it. Then, I lost the pages and had to rewrite it. Then, I took a long time to continue it again. Then, I lost the pages again, and had to rewrite it again. Anyway, I don't own How to Train Your Dragon.

The trio flew into the fog, pulled by whatever was making Toothless act so strangely. Dark shapes were moving, weaving through the sickening fog. Every now and again, there was a moaning sound to be heard.

Suddenly, a Nadder broke out of the mist and flew past them, holding a sheep in its talons. It seemed oblivious of them, but the Zippleback that flew behind it did not. It glared at Toothless in a way that seemed to say, " You fool! What are you doing?"

As they continued, more dragons appeared with more food, flying in formation to get somewhere. As if on cue, all of the dragons veered left. Hiccup and Astrid began to notice a high-pitched tone in the air that wasn't stopping.

The dragons turned right. The noise persisted.

Then, the dragons turned left. The noise got louder.

This continued for many twists and turns, with the noise getting louder and louder and louder, until, suddenly, the noise stopped altogether once the dragons got into a cave in the center of a dormant volcano. In the center of the volcano was a hole, which glowed orange and had more of the fog flowing out of it. Each dragon flew over the hole, including Toothless, who merely flew past while the other dragons dropped in their food. Toothless then sat next to a Monstrous Nightmare, which looked at them briefly, then turned back to the pit, seemingly unconcerned by the two humans riding on a Night Fury. A Zippleback was on their other side, and seemed to be looking at them in contemplation, as if it was trying to decide if they were a threat.

Astrid and Hiccup returned their attention to the pit, where a Gronkle flew and deposited one single regurgitated fish and stood there, scratching behind its ear with its back leg.

Suddenly, a great fanged… thing rose its green head out and closed its giant pustule covered jaws around the poor creature. It turned its six eyes to Toothless, as if it sensed the humans, and snarled. Just as suddenly as the monster appeared, the Zippleback to their right leapt into the air and began to fly around, roaring at all of the other dragons, who proceeded to follow its example and fly in a circle, which Toothless then flew into and began to head for the top of the volcano. All of the dragons buzzed around the fiends fetid head and kept flying in that direction until they got to the narrow top of the volcano, which Toothless flew out through.

As they headed back to Berk, Astrid and Hiccup noticed that the ships had finally docked in Berk, meaning that the raiding party had returned, but had suffered severe damages, and likely lost some of their numbers.

"What was that anyway?" Hiccup asked, "It wasn't in the Manual."

"It seems like a giant dragon cuckoo. It takes a nest, and then forces the inhabitants to feed it until they die," Astrid noted. "We've got to tell someone."

"Not yet. They'll kill Toothless," Hiccup replied.

"You want to keep a bottle on this?" Astrid said, "Lives are at stake, ours and the dragons."

"I'm not letting Toothless get hurt," Hiccup said, his voice even more determined than whenever he gave orders during dragon training.

"Alright," Astrid said, noticing how much of a leader he sounded, "What's the plan."

"Just give me a little time. Next training, tomorrow. I'll have something planned, I promise," he answered.

"Alright," Astrid said. Then, to his slight surprise, she punched him, and said, "That's for helping Toothless kidnap me."

"I don't think that should count as my…" he began, until she suddenly kissed him o the cheek, causing him to blush.

"And," she said, looking down blushing as well, "that's for everything else."

Toothless grinned to himself. His courtship plan was a success. Well, other than the sojourn to the Island, which he supposed could be romantic if his humans were adrenaline junkies. Then he thought about it. His humans befriended a Night Fury. His humans enjoyed riding a Night Fury. His Humans WERE adrenaline junkies. And, with that, Toothless found himself unnerved.


	10. Chapter 10

How a Viking and a NotViking Train a Dragon

Chapter 10

Well, I'm sorry for the delay, but I was at a loss as to what would come next. Please forgive me. I will try to update at a much closer together time period. There will be more deviations from the movie in this chapter than last.

Hiccup and Astrid walked to the training ground, getting ready for another lesson, when suddenly; Gobber grabbed them both and said, "Where have you two been? You're both facing the Nightmare."

"What?" Hiccup almost shouted. Astrid kept her calm outwardly, but was thinking the same thing.

"Well, you two are the top students, so you'll be facing the Monstrous Nightmare alone," Gobber replied slowly, trying to emphasize his point, "Well, come on, then."

o/|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||\|||||||||||||||||o

"What are we going to do, now, genius?" Astrid asked her companion as Stoick gave a speech to the Vikings gathered to watch, "I don't particularly want to kill the Nightmare anymore than you do."

"Just follow my lead, and bring your axe," Hiccup replied, "There shouldn't be a need to kill if nobody messes up the plan."

"Well, here's hoping," Astrid said, "As long as neither of us die we'll be fine."

As they finished their discussion, the gate separating them from the Kill Ring lifted, signaling them to get in. Once they were inside, the gate closed as they walked up to the weapons wall so Hiccup could get a dagger from the shelf. Once he was armed, the gate for the Nightmare was opened as it flew out of its cage, making a big show of flames as it attempted to escape.

Hiccup immediately tossed his dagger aside and turned to Astrid, saying, "Drop the axe. We need to make him comfortable."

Astrid, trusting him, tossed her axe away, noticing that people were getting concerned over what the pair had done. Hiccup then stuck out his hand, turning his head away, in order to show the dragon that he trusted it. Astrid, understanding what he was attempting did the same, a bit more cautious than her friend, mostly because of her not being as insane as may claimed Hiccup was.

The Nightmare was edging towards the pair of humans cautiously, trusting them. It was about to touch them with its snout, when it heard an aggressive human sound form outside the giant cage they were in. It must be from them, the Nightmare decided, and therefore began to growl aggressively, giving them warning to back away. The male did not seem to notice it, but the female threw them away from the dragon, which was enraged. It began to chase them threateningly, in order to tire them out in order to make them stop being threats.

o/||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||\o

Meanwhile, at Raven's Point, Toothless heard the sound of his humans screaming, Hiccup louder than Astrid. Worried, he began to try to climb out of the canyon.

He fell.

He tried again, hearing them cry out again.

He fell yet again.

He was not going to fail them. He clawed higher and higher until he succeeded in getting himself over the cliff. Then, he began to glide to Hiccup and Astrid. His humans needed him.

o/o

Hiccup and Astrid were separated as the Nightmare cornered Hiccup. By means of a threat, Astrid grabbed a hammer, and threw it with as much force as possible, noticing that the others were trying to get the gate open. The Nightmare still ignored her, intent on Hiccup.

Suddenly, there was a familiar high-pitched shriek in the sky. Toothless had arrived, and blasted open the gate. He then took a defensive stance in between the Nightmare and Hiccup. The Nightmare began hissing at Toothless, until Toothless returned some hisses, resulting in the Nightmare backing down and returning to its cage.

Unfortunately, that was when the Vikings finally got the gate open. Stoick engaged Toothless in combat, leading to Toothless pinning the man down, and growling, his teeth bared.

"Toothless, don"T!" Hiccup cried in panic. At that, Toothless got off of Stoick, the other Vikings blindsided him, much to Astrid and Hiccup's mutual horror. Then, as Toothless was bound and locked in one of the cages, Stoick grabbed Hiccup, dragging him back to their house. Astrid tried to go with them, but was held back by the crowd.

o/o

When the crowd cleared, Astrid was swarmed by her fellow teens, who wore concerned looks on their faces.

"What do you want?" she asked, bothered by her inability to find Hiccup anywhere, while the older Vikings had taken Toothless and strapped him to a boat, presumably to find the nest, as they had all boarded other boats and were geared for war.

"So, that's what you two were up to," Ruffnut stated, sounding oddly calm.

"Yes, we're friends with a Night Fury," she said, in her authoritative voice, "Now, are you going to help me find Hiccup, or are you just here to look at one of the 'traitors'?"

"We don't think you're traitors," Snotlout said, "we think that it's awesome that you guys ride a Night Fury."

"How did you…?" Astrid began.

"You know, saddles are a dead giveaway for people riding an animal," Tuffnut said.

"And, the device on the tail showed that the Night Fury would only have +3 Speed without a rider, and would fail to be airborne without a rider with +15 Experience in order to have its customary +6 Speed."

"Have any of you seen Hiccup?" Astrid asked again, ignoring what they said.

"He's been at the high point of the dock since he was banished," Snotlout said, "And, just so you know, whatever he's planning, we're in."

"I'll tell him that," she responded, hoping that Hiccup had a plan in mind to save Toothless.

o/||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||\o

When she got up there, she saw him looking like he had lost everything, which he had. This wasn't the Hiccup that she knew. She was going to have to motivate him.

"Wow," she said, "You've lost everything, your home, your family, your other best friend…"

"Thank you for summing that up," he responded glumly, not tearing his gaze from the ships on the horizon, "Maybe I should have killed him. Anyone else would have done it and nothing would have changed."

"So why didn't you?" she pushed, noticing that spark that separated him from most other Vikings coming back.

"I couldn't," he responded simply.

"Why?" she pushed, fanning the flames of his Not-Vikingness in order to return him to himself.

"I wouldn't!" he responded.

"You said wouldn't," she said, seeing him begin to be himself again.

"I wouldn't," he replied, "Centuries of Vikings, and I'm the first to not ever want to kill a dragon."

"First to ride one, though," she said, seeing him become Hiccup again, "He's probably scared, right now. What are you going to do, now?"

"Probably something stupid," he replied.

"Alright, but you've already done that," she pressed.

"Then, something crazy," he amended, running off to fill a crazy idea.

"That's more like it," she said, chasing him to tell him about the promise the others had made. Her Hiccup was back.


	11. Chapter 11

How a Viking and a NotViking Train a Dragon

Chapter 10

Sorry to be late. I couldn't think of what to do with this story for a while.

Astrid was trying to find the other teens in order to get them to do whatever it was Hiccup needed them for. She eventually found them all in a field, which was good. They were all in one place.

"Come on!" she shouted at them, "Hiccup's got a plan, and he needs all of us to go to the training ground."

At this the entire group rose up and started to follow her to where Hiccup was. When they got there, he was facing the cage of the Nightmare.

"If you plan on killing yourself, I'd go with the Gronkle," Fishlegs commented, causing Hiccup to turn abruptly.

"You were wise to seek the council of the world's most dangerous weapon," Tuffnut said. Then, seeing Hiccup's lack of expression, he added, "Me."

"I love this plan!" Snotlout said, confusing Hiccup.

"I haven't even…" Hiccup began before Ruffnut grabbed him by the collar, pulling him towards her.

"You're crazy," she remarked in a husky voice, "I like that."

Suddenly, she was grabbed by the horns on her helmet by Astrid, who tossed her aside and asked, "So, what is the plan?"

Hiccup just smiled and opened the door to the Nightmare and walked into the blackness. After a couple of seconds, he walked out of the darkness, leading the dragon out with his hand on its nose. He began steering it to Snotlout, who was getting very nervous.

"Look away and put your hand on its nose," Hiccup instructed as if what he was asking was merely an occurrence like opening a door.

Trusting Hiccup's judgment for the moment, Snotlout did as he was told. When the Nightmare did not bite his hand off he gave out a chuckle of relief, until Hiccup removed his own hand.

"Where are you going?" he asked, his voice getting panicky.

"You're going to need something to hold on with," Hiccup said wryly, lifting up long pieces of rope.

With that, the other teens, feeling encouraged by Snotlout's success, walked up to the dragons as Astrid released them. The twins went up to the Zippleback, while Fishlegs took to the Gronkle.

While Hiccup began fitting the dragons with makeshift harnesses, the Nadder slinked out of the cage, looking at Astrid with the same scrutiny that it had bestowed upon her when she had thrown her axe at it. Eventually, it seemed to be pleased with what it saw, as it went up to her and permitted her to place her hand on its nose.

Once everyone and their dragons were set, Astrid grabbed Hiccup from behind and pulled him onto her dragon; while Snotlout and Tuffnut chuckled at how funny Hiccup looked when she surprised him.

With that, the teens flew off, using the dragons to find the way to the Nest.

* * *

As the group neared the nest, some gallows humor began to settle in them.

"I'll bet that everyone in Valhalla will be distraught with when I defeat them one by one," Snotlout bragged.

"Well, then, when I'm dead, I'll just have to go defeat Hel herself to claim her lands if you're the best Valhalla has to offer," Tuffnut mocked.

"I'll bet that Odin finds me too dangerous to leave amongst the dead, and will decide to let me become a Valkyrie just to make sure that I don't try to take over."

"I'm going to try to get to the fountain of knowledge and drink from it. I won't need to tell how thick something is when I'm dead anyway," Fishlegs proclaimed.

"I'll bet that the Giant Dragon will accidentally squish me and think it has a splinter," Hiccup joked.

"If you die," Astrid mock-threatened, "I'll cut your leg off with this axe you made, right at the instant we get to Valhalla."

Cries of terror were suddenly heard below, so the group looked down and saw the  
Vikings being severely beaten by the Giant Dragon.

"'Legs, take it apart," Hiccup said in his commanding voice.

"Eyes: six but all are very small and seemingly dim, relies on hearing and smell. Teeth: very large, avoid at all cost. Limbs: very powerful. do not get underneath. Fire power: very strong, avoid mouth as a whole," the genius summarized.

"Snoutlout, Fishlegs," Hiccup ordered, "go up to it and make some noise. Ruff, Tuff, find out if it has a shot limit. Get it angry."

"You came to the right person for annoying people," Tuff said.

"Yeah right," Ruff said, "everyone knows I'm more annoying."

"NO, I AM!"

"NO, ME!"

"Just go!" Hiccup commanded, getting the twins into gear.

"I see Toothless," he said, turning to Astrid, "Bring me close to the ground."

Without a word, she lowered them down, allowing Hiccup to jump off as she went to help the others.

* * *

Hiccup worked to free Toothless as quickly as he could, when suddenly, the Giant Dragon blasted the ship, causing it to sink, with Hiccup not letting go of Toothless' restraints, still trying to get them off. Eventually, Hiccup began to run out of breath, while Toothless kept signaling for Hiccup to save himself.

Then, before Hiccup could drown, Stoick pulled him out of the water and tossed him onto the shore. He then leapt back into the water and tried to free Toothless, himself. With some effort, he pulled the entire harness apart, saving the dragon, but beginning to sink, himself.

Fortunately for the burly Viking, Toothless pulled him out as he rose from the water.

Hiccup then leapt onto Toothless' back, and made ready to fly into battle. Suddenly, he felt a large hand on his knee.

"Hiccup," Stoick said penitently, "I'm sorry. For everything."

"I am, too," Hiccup responded sincerely.

"I am proud of you," Stoick commented, knowing this could be the last item he saw his son.

"Thanks dad," Hiccup responded.

"You don't have to do this," his father remarked.

"We're Vikings, dad," Hiccup said, tears in his eyes, "It's an occupational hazard."

And with that, the boy flew off into battle.

* * *

Snotlout had evidently fallen off his Nightmare, as he was currently on the Giant Dragon's head, hammering away at its eyes.

Suddenly, it bucked him off, causing him to fall for several feet.

"And they make the catch!" the twins cheered as Snotlout landed on the space right before the separation of the necks on the Zippleback.

Then, before Astrid knew what was happening, she began to feel herself and her Nadder being pulled back by a powerful force. Turning around, she saw that the monster was pulling them in with its breath. Astrid and her dragon tried to fly away, but the pull was too strong.

Suddenly, the pull stopped, causing Astrid to be launched off her Nadder by the sheer force of its flight being able to go full force. She began falling when suddenly she was caught by a black blur. Toothless, which meant…

"Did we catch her?" Hiccup asked the dragon, concern in his voice.

Toothless looked at Astrid and grinned his gummy grin, then turned his head back up and nodded.

The pair went in low, away from the Giant Dragon, and released Astrid, flying back into the fray.

"Go," Astrid whispered. As much as she hated not being able to help Hiccup, this was his and Toothless' fight, now, and she had just been taken out of it.

* * *

"Come on, Toothless," Hiccup said, "It has wings. Let's see if it can use them."

The two flew at the beast, firing at it as often as they could, and then began to fly away. Staying away from the Giant Dragon would be their main goal as it gave out a roar and began to chase them through the air.

"Come on, let's get some height!" Hiccup shouted, spurring Toothless to raise himself higher, until they broke cloud coverage, revealing the night sky.

The Giant Dragon began to search for them, turning this way and that, trying to get their scent or to see where they were. Suddenly, it felt a blast at its wings, striking the one on the right.

It turned to where the blast came from, and yet again saw nothing.

Another hit came from the other side, striking the left wing. Once more the Giant Dragon turned, again seeing nothing. This continued several times until it had finally gotten frustrated and breathed a wreath of flame around itself, burning anything that was nearby.

"Oh, no," Hiccup said, noticing the sudden burst on the back of the tail fin, "Looks like we've got to do it now, Toothless."

As he said this, Toothless flew into the monster's line of sight and began to descend to the ground as fast as he could, with the behemoth in pursuit.

Right when it was close to them, it began to prepare the gases in its mouth to fire. Then, much to its surprise, Toothless fired a burst of his own flame into its mouth, causing the gas to burst inside the giant mouth. It tried to pull away from the burst instinctively, but only managed to tear its hole-ridden wings as rider and dragon pulled up with relative ease.

Unfortunately for the pair, their enemy was still capable of thinking of revenge, and struck with its tail with all its might as it plummeted, striking them down, making them plummet.

Then, darkness enveloped Hiccup.


	12. Chapter 12

How a Viking and a NotViking Train a Dragon

Chapter 12

Well, over a year, and this story is finally done. Thank you all for sticking around and reading this fanfic, Christopher Scott: A Gentleman Thief

Hiccup awoke with a start. He had just had a strange dream that he, for the life of him couldn't remember the end of. The last part he remembered was falling off of…

Suddenly, he felt a large warm tongue licking his face.

"Alright, Toothless," he said, "I'm up. I'll get up off of the… bed?"

Looking around, he saw that he was in his house. And so was Toothless, the dragon. In a Viking village. Panic set in accordingly.

"You're in my house!" he exclaimed worriedly, "Does my dad know you're here?"

He lifted the bedcovers to get to the dragon in order to get him out before his father saw him. Looking at his legs, he saw a disturbing sight. His left leg was gone, replaced by a metal appendage that seemed to have a spring where the ankle would be. The "foot" appeared to be a metal device that was flat with a boxy space between it and the rest of the prosthetic. He was speechless as Toothless nudged it with his muzzle. He never thought that he would lose his leg so young.

He rose from his bed and prepared to get up to go. When he arose, he took his first two steps and began to fall forward due to the new sensation of walking with an unfamiliar leg. Fortunately, Toothless was there to stop him from hitting the ground. Wrapping his arm around the dragon's neck, Hiccup began to make his way to the door. When he got there, he opened it to see a Monstrous Nightmare fly past the door. Slamming it shut, he quickly said to Toothless, "Stay in here, for now, buddy."

Hiccup then stepped outside, expecting to see combat between Vikings and dragons. What he saw instead was a surprise. Rather than fighting, the dragons and humans seemed to be staying with each other peacefully, cohabitating functionally well.

"I knew it," he said, "I'm dead."

"No, but you tried your hardest," his father quipped, walking up to him.

"I designed the leg, myself," Gobber said cheerfully, "Though I did add a bit of Hiccup flair. Do you like it?"

"I might tweak it a bit," Hiccup joked. Suddenly, Astrid walked up to him quickly and then stopped in front of him.

"I take it that this was your doing?" Hiccup jested. Astrid didn't seem to take that joke well, since she then proceeded to punch him in the shoulder.

"That was for scaring me," she said, steel in her gaze.

"Why do you always do that? I think…"He began, before she cut him off with a soft kiss on the lips.

"Because I think I can get used to this," he said, a dazed smile on his face.

"Night Fury!" someone shouted as Toothless bounded to his humans.

When the dragon stopped, Gobber stepped forward once again and handed Hiccup a bundle. It appeared to be his saddle, or at least a bulkier, more well-made one, though that might have just been because the materials to make it were far superior to the extra leather and spare iron that the original was made of. After the others helped Hiccup strap it onto Toothless, he climbed onto the dragon, locking his foot into the gearshift for the tailfin.

With that, the pair flew off to explore around Berk. They were followed by the other teens on dragon back, but got farther ahead. Who knew what the future could hold? Whatever it threw at them, they would be ready.


End file.
